Tau Empire - XV8 Crisis Battlesuits Warhammer 40K Box

Product Information

I don’t know what may happen to Kelseth after this, but I love how open-ended it is! Is Kelseth rising from the “ashes” of war like a phoenix to a new beginning? Even more Intriguing is where Lako’ma ends up! What has she wrought for herself… and the T’au? I really enjoyed being Kelseth but it was too short – what did the Harlequin mean by “tell future stories and explore the universe”? Maybe he and Lako’ma can meet again in the dark city!? The advancement of T'au Battlesuits has mirrored the rate at which the T'au have expanded across the galaxy. The earliest prototypes were field-tested during the early stages of the First Sphere Expansion, and although they were successful, the going was slow. In 576.M39, improvements in anti-gravitic motors were combined with relatively new T'au Battlesuit technology at the time to form the first T-Series Battlesuits, which helped the Fire Caste complete the annexation of the Tash'var Sept. Let’s begin with the Crisis Suits. Each model in this unit decreased in cost by 5 points, and while this is welcome, it doesn’t do nearly enough to make the unit playable outside of Farsight Enclaves army lists.

Special issue items and signature systems are experimental or hard to mass produce, and are currently undergoing field-testing prior to becoming widely available. As such, their distribution is usually limited to one per Hunter Cadre. Signature systems, like Battlesuit wargear, can only be taken by Battlesuit pilots of rank Shas’vre or higher. Any XV8 Crisis Battlesuit can also be accompanied by up to two T'au Drones into battle, such as Gun Drones, Shield Drones and Marker Drones. Such a privilege can only be attained after several Terran years of progressing through the ranks of the Fire Caste as a Fire Warrior. A Fire Warrior will normally follow a standard rate of progression and advancement in the T'au military that is based around an evaluation of their skills called a " Trial by Fire." But with this points increase, GW really twisted the knife. Not only do we see far fewer Drones on the tabletop at the moment — granted, most people aren’t playing much right now — but we see far fewer T’au armies on the tabletop at the moment. 9th edition has been so bad for the faction that much of the player base is playing with another faction. I would argue, then, that GW didn’t need to further increase the cost of Drones. 15 points for a Shield Drone is already quite expensive, but 20 points for a Shield Drone is a bridge too far. The XV89 Crisis Battlesuit was intended for assaults against heavily-fortified enemy positions and thus is outfitted with the heavy Iridium Armour modification for enhanced protection compared to the standard XV8 Crisis Battlesuit.After this service, Fire Warriors will normally move on to train in the use of the XV88 Broadside Battlesuit. Whilst some T'au Fire Warriors may skip this stage, it is considered important by many T'au Commanders for their veteran warriors seeking greater command roles within the Fire Caste to have had experience in the heavy fire support role. Once a Fire Warrior has proven themselves ready for more responsibility in a second Trial by Fire, they will then be promoted to the rank of shas'vre and lead their own XV8 Crisis Battlesuit Team. The XV8 Crisis Battlesuit is the mainstay general combat T'au Battlesuit utilised by the warriors of the Fire Caste of the T'au Empire. It mounts a vast array of fearsome ranged weaponry as well as a complement of technologically advanced support systems on a comparatively small and agile frame that offers the T'au pilot within exceptional protection. Of all the weapons systems employed by the T'au, the XV8 Crisis Battlesuit is easily the most distinctive and recognisable due to its reputation as an efficient and lethal weapon of war.

An XV8 Crisis Battlesuit Team , comprising 3 Battlesuits (1 of which can be assembled as the experimental XV8-02) and 6 drones T'au Battlesuits are only piloted by those Fire Warriors who have proven themselves in battle and completed their first Trial by Fire to earn the Fire Caste rank of shas'ui. Often, the first battlesuits that Fire Warriors learn to pilot are the XV15 and/or the XV25 Stealthsuit, to complete their training in the arts of infiltration and ambush that they began as Pathfinders. Once their time utilising a Stealthsuit is complete, they are then given the honour of piloting an XV8 Crisis Battlesuit and becoming a member of the Fire Caste's elite.

Fraser McFetridge – 1st Place

The suit also has three hardpoints that allow it to accept any combination of weaponry, support systems, and wargear. [1]

It follows, then, that GW would want to tone down this playstyle somewhat. And tone it down they did. In fact, GW did a lot more than that. As we all know, T’au have very little play in 9th edition.Not all T'au find themselves suitable for advancement through all of these stages, either due to failure in training or simply because some warriors choose to take on more specialised roles that end their advancement up the general command ranks of the Fire Caste. As such, they will often stay in one role to teach the others who will follow, such as the shas'ui who command Fire Warrior Squads, the shas'nel who serve as Cadre Fireblades, and the shas'vre who lead XV88 Broadside Battlesuit Teams and Stealthsuit Teams, amongst others. This reduction in points, then, is good to see. I think that we’re going to see more Broadsides hit the tabletop before the codex arrives, especially given that the change to the Mont’ka rule — putting aside rules discussions — grants the unit even more flexibility than previously. The Imperium favours tried and tested technology – and while Redemptors can choose between the (admittedly exc